


Could You Imagine?

by FebruaryFun



Series: Could You Imagine AU [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: How Do I Tag, Logic | Logan Sanders Has Feelings, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Neglect, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Platonic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22808173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryFun/pseuds/FebruaryFun
Summary: A mirage, explained in the simplest way, is the manifestation of someone’s imagination. Depending on the strength of your imagination, it can manifest in different ways. Someone with a weak imagination or just an underdeveloped imagination (relative to more creative types) will most likely have their imagination manifest in the form of an animal, kind of like a familiar. Creative types with stronger imaginations will have their imaginations manifest in actual humanoid form. Their behavior and their abilities, again, depend on the strength of the person’s creative abilities.Logan's mirage has been in very concerning health lately, so his boss forces him to get help in the form of local baker and ray of sunshine, Patton Baker, and his mirage, Roman.This is my third attempt at writing an idea that I've been working on since 2018. Finally, I think I know the story I want to tell!
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Could You Imagine AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1410991
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	Could You Imagine?

____________________________________________________________

_“Everything you can imagine is real.” -Pablo Picasso_

____________________________________________________________

“Andrew, would you mind calling your mirage back? I cannot work with a duck standing on my keyboard.”

“Hm? Oh! Sorry. Come on, Brady, leave Logan alone!”

Logan sighed in annoyance as the large bird hopped off his desk and waddled over into the next cubicle. He honestly never understood why his coworker’s mirage took that form. Then again, he really didn’t understand mirages in general.

A mirage, explained in the simplest way, is the manifestation of someone’s imagination. Depending on the strength of your imagination, it can manifest in different ways. Someone with a weak imagination or just an underdeveloped imagination (relative to more creative types) will most likely have their imagination manifest in the form of an animal, while creative types with stronger imaginations will have their imaginations manifest in actual humanoid form. Their behavior and their abilities, again, depend on the strength of the person’s creative abilities.

Knowing all this, Logan could not fathom as to why his coworker’s mirage was a duck. “Explain to me again why you’re so fond of water fowl? There are far more aesthetically pleasing and well behaved birds.”

Andrew shrugged, standing and looking at Logan over the wall that separated the tiny grey offices. “I just like them.” He picked up his mirage and set him on his desk, petting him. “Why don’t you like him?”

Logan swiveled in his chair, looking up at Andrew. “Because it doesn’t behave. Honestly, I don’t know how you get anything done with that duck wandering all over the place. Sometimes I swear it makes trouble and gets in the way on purpose.”

Andrew laughed, then sobered a little, looking at Logan with thinly veiled concern. “Hey Logan, where’s your mirage? You haven’t had it manifested at work lately.”

Logan just turned back to his computer, uncomfortable with the sudden shift in Andrew’s tone. “I simply haven’t needed anything more than subconscious assistance from him. He’s been very tired.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you should leave him unmanifested all day. You know that isn’t good for him.”

“I know that. You don’t need to tell me how to take care of my mirage.” Logan internally grimaced at the harshness of his own voice. He just really didn’t like it when the topic of his own mirage was brought up. He knew there was a problem. He didn’t know how to fix it.

Andrew sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cross any lines. I’m just worried. I’ll get back to work now. Just…” He shook his head, going back to his desk as he talked through the wall. “Don’t work yourself to death. Or him.”

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

Logan was still troubled by Andrew’s concern as he walked into his apartment that evening, putting his keys in his coat pocket and then hanging up his coat by the door. His mirage really wasn’t weak enough to cause concern, was it? He just didn’t have a particularly strong imagination. It wasn’t… It wasn’t sick. Or at least it wasn’t very sick. Right? He sighed, putting on a pot of coffee and grabbing his laptop. He paused as he sat at the table, thinking. After taking a deep breath, he focused on that faint, barely-there feeling of inspiration in the back of his mind and _pulled_. 

“...you called…?” 

Logan looked up as a figure appeared, sitting on the table in front of him. The figure was humanoid, with brown hair like Logan’s and ghostly pale skin. He appeared to be wearing a black hoodie over a grey shirt, although it was hard to tell. The figure was blurry, so blurry that Logan wasn’t sure if he had a face or not. He was slouched over, elbow resting on his knee and chin resting on his hand, a fuzzy image of exhaustion.

After a moment of staring, Logan collected himself, opening his laptop. “I want you to spend some time out here, please. It’s not good for you to be in my subconscious constantly.” He opened up some documents he needed to finish for work, then glanced over the top of his screen. “And please, for the eighth time, will you please stop sitting on the table? I own multiple chairs for a reason.”

“...oh really… I never would have guessed…” The mirage got off the table and wandered into the living room, laying down on the couch. Logan determinedly got back to work, letting himself become absorbed in the data in front of him.

So his mirage was sick. It wasn’t that bad. Right?

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

Logan wasn’t nervous when he was called into his boss’s office the next day. He knew he was doing his work well and meeting all his deadlines. There was no reason for him to be disciplined. However, that begged the question- what _was_ he being called in for?

“...you’re getting fired…” Logan’s mirage muttered from where he was trailing along behind him. He wasn’t sure if the mirage was actually walking or just drifting over the ground anymore. 

“I’m not going to get fired. He most likely just wants to discuss a future project of some kind with me.”

Well, they wouldn’t know until they confronted him. Logan stepped into the office and closed the door behind him, standing with his hands folded in front of himself. “You wanted to see me sir?” No reason to be nervous.

Logan’s boss, Mr. Harris, was not a very intimidating man. He was short and a little on the heavy side, with grey hairs mixed into his otherwise black locks. He had a kind, grandfatherly smile and truly cared for his employees, which was why he’d summoned Logan to his office in the first place. “Yes, please sit down. Your mirage is welcome to sit, too… This concerns him as much as it does you.”

Logan frowned and seated himself, his mirage sitting in the chair next to him. “This concerns my mirage, sir?”

“Yes, Logan. I’m worried that your mirage is dying.”

Logan shook his head immediately. His mirage wasn’t dying. He didn’t take the best care of it, and he knew that, but it wasn’t _that_ bad. He was about to protest, but Mr. Harris raised his hand to silence him. “No, Logan. I know you’re stubborn, and you have a lot of pride, but you need to open your eyes. It’s gotten bad enough that your mirage is translucent some days. That’s not normal and you know it.”

“I haven’t been mistreating him!” He looked at the blurry figure sitting next to him for… he wasn’t sure. Some kind of support? An answer? A defense? In any case, all he got was silent staring. That seemed to be all he ever got from the mirage these days.

“Look, Logan,” Mr. Harris cut into Logan’s thoughts gently. “I know this wasn’t intentional, but your mirage was already in a concerning state when you started working here. I don’t even remember him having a name. I’ve signed you up for the creative care program that our company offers.”

“What?!” Creative care programs were relatively new, but so far, they’d been very successful. A preventative measure to rescue sickly mirages, creative care meant meeting up with a creative individual in a stimulating environment in an attempt that the exposure would help motivate both the sick mirage and its host to take up creative hobbies and a healthier schedule. It also normally involved an activity of some kind, like painting or arts and crafts. It sounded like an unproductive waste of time to Logan. “With all due respect-”

Mr. Harris actually chuckled. “Don’t you, ‘with all due respect,’ me. Going to your creative care sessions is mandatory, or you’ll be written up. You have a perfect record, Logan. I don’t think you want to let your pride mess that up.”

Logan adjusted his tie nervously. “No… But I still don’t see why it’s necessary!”

“...I don’t want to go…” The mirage suddenly spoke for the first time all day. “...that sounds like a lot of work… work isn’t really my thing…”

“See?” Logan gestured to the mirage, nodding to himself. “If my mirage doesn’t want to go, why should I?”

Mr. Harris sighed. “I’m not kidding about writing you up, Logan. You’ve been paired up with Patton Baker. He’s… well, fittingly, a baker. He specializes in cake and candy sculptures and he owns his own bakery called _Icing on Top_. On top of that, his mirage practices singing, acting, poetry, and plays the ukulele.” He smiled a bit. “I’m sure the experience will be interesting for both of you.” He offered Logan a note with the address of the bakery on it. “He’s expecting you today at six-thirty. Don’t be late.”

Logan sighed, taking the paper. “I won’t be.” He looked at his sick mirage, then back down at the paper. This would be interesting, alright.

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

The bell above the door jingled as Logan stepped into _Icing on Top_ , arriving at six-thirty exactly. His mirage dragged his feet, groaning. “...so bright in here…”

It was indeed bright. The walls were a soft baby blue with large grey circles, contrasting the pink counters and yellow display cases. It was… cute? Logan was pretty sure that was the word he was looking for. The small bakery was filled with the smell of freshly baked sweets, most likely emanating from the display cases of warm cookies, cupcakes, brownies, etc. All of them were neatly decorated and arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Logan’s mirage was already loathing the decor.

“Hello!” A voice that reminiscent of the bell above the door rang out from over the counter. A man dressed in a blue polo shirt and khaki pants was just bringing out a fresh tray of lemon jam cookies. “You must be Logan! I’m Patton Baker! I’ll be with you in just a moment. Actually- Roman? Could you come put these in the display for me? Logan is here.” 

“Coming, Patton~!”

Patton turned to Logan’s mirage. “I’m going to talk to Logan for a minute. When Roman is done with that, why don’t you two hang out for a little while? You can go ahead and start telling Roman about your interests!”

The mirage just shrugged. Sure, why not? And then… Roman came out of the kitchen. Oh, Logan’s mirage hated him the second he saw him. Roman wore an outfit like a fairy tale prince, white with gold accents and those weird button things up the front that he never understood. He even had a royal crest in red on either sleeve! Nope, no, too many bright colors. Plus the guy was loud, and did he have to dance everywhere he went? No, no, no, no, no.

While Logan’s mirage sized up Roman, Patton took Logan over to a booth to sit and talk. “So, how did your mirage get this sick?”

Logan shook his head. “I’m not sure, in all honesty…” He glanced at his mirage, then looked back at Patton. “I suppose it’s just been so gradual, I haven’t noticed much of a change over the years.” Although, when he did think back… didn’t his mirage used to have more color? Logan could’ve sworn that he also had a name once…

Patton nodded a bit. “Well, it sounds like you just need a refresher course on how to take care of him! Let’s go over the basics and start from there?”

“If that’s where you think we should start, then go ahead.”

“Alright.” Patton smiled a bit and folded his hands on the table. “So, we have mirages and tethers. Mirages are the physical manifestations of our imaginations- haha, that kind of rhymed- and tethers are the people the mirages are connected to. As a tether, it’s your responsibility to take care of your mirage.”

Logan sighed and nodded, impatient. “Yes, I know that much. So what have I been doing wrong?”

“I know, I’m getting to that part.” Patton had a feeling that Logan was going to be a little difficult to help. He was up to the challenge though! “Mirages all have two basic needs- a rest schedule and stimulation.”

Okay, now Logan was actually slightly confused. Maybe he didn’t know as much as he thought he did. “A rest schedule? I know it’s not healthy for a mirage to be unmanifested for long periods of time, but…”

Patton nodded. “You’re right. Mirages need to be on schedules for when they are and are not manifested, a lot like we need healthy sleep schedules.” Logan nodded as if he had a healthy sleep schedule. “The best schedule you can give them is eighteen hours manifested and six hours unmanifested every twenty-four hours.”

Logan hummed thoughtfully. “Interesting. My mirage definitely doesn’t stay manifested often, but when he is manifested, he complains about being tired.”

“In this case, your mirage is tired because he’s weak, not because he needs rest.” Patton looked over at the blurry mirage, who was currently sitting on one of the tables. “You said he doesn’t have a name, right? The fact that he isn’t manifested most of the time might be the cause. He doesn’t have much of a sense of self.”

“I never considered that.” Logan followed his gaze. “Is that why he can’t seem to take on a stable form, as well?” 

“Partially.” Patton looked back at Logan. “He also doesn't have enough stimulation. He’s not being exposed to new ideas, he doesn’t have any creative outlets… He’s really just not being exercised enough, both on his end and on yours.”

Logan started getting defensive. “I’m doing my best. I have a very busy schedule and a very firm routine.”

“Well then it’s time to change that routine!” Patton got up and went behind the counter, then came back with a notebook. “Let’s write down what you normally do in a day, then see where we can find a little extra time.”

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

While Patton and Logan were working on a plan, Logan’s mirage was staring down Roman. Roman couldn’t see his face through the blur, but he got the impression that he was being glared at. “Um, hello! I’m Prince Roman, at your service!” He bowed, then moved to sit at the table that the other mirage was sitting on, only to be aggressively hissed at. He backed up, sitting at a different table. “Okay! Okay, I get the message, jeez…” Hm. He’d worked with plenty of sick mirages before, but they all _wanted_ to talk to him. And why wouldn’t they? Roman considered himself one of the best conversationalists out there, not to mention the fact that he was handsome and brave and awesome in every sense of the word! What wasn’t to like? Apparently something, because this strange new mirage didn’t seem to want a thing to do with him. Still, he tried again. “What’s your name?” No response. “Um… what do you do in your spare time?” Still nothing. “Can you talk?”

“...yes…” Aha! Finally!

“Well, talk to me!” Roman flashed a dazzling smile at Logan’s mirage, trying to be as friendly as possible. “I don’t bite, I promise!”

Logan’s mirage glared at Roman. Why was he so loud? And bright? And sickeningly excited about everything? “...I bite, so back off…”

Roman faltered a little bit. “Um… Okay? Well, I’m right here if you want to talk.”

He didn’t. They spent the next two hours in awkward silence.

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

Logan looked over the papers he and Patton had worked on, nodding to himself. “I believe I can make these adjustments, but I’m not sure my mirage will like them.”

Patton smiled kindly. “Maybe not at first, but trust me, it’ll be good for him! He just needs to get used to it.” He looked at the watch on his wrist. “Well, our time is up for the day! I have some cakes I need to start working on, and you have some plans to go over with your mirage! You have my number if you ever need me. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Logan nodded. “I’ll see you then.” Was it already eight-thirty? Wow. The time seemed to fly as he and Patton organized a schedule that would better fit his mirage’s needs. He was actually really surprised that he and Patton worked so well together. Patton was so… lighthearted and playful and sweet! Logan was none of those things, yet they went back and forth so easily. He has a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the fact that Patton was also very patient with him. “Mirage? It’s time to go.”

Logan’s mirage was still sitting on a table and glaring at Roman. He got up when he was called, expecting Logan to unmanifest him. When Logan didn’t, he tried to do it himself… only to find Logan stopping him. “...why…?”

Logan sighed. “Patton believes it would be best if I put you on a manifest schedule. You are unmanifested too much and it’s hurting you.”

The mirage groaned. “...but I’m tired…”

Patton called out to them from behind the counter. “Trust me, mirage! You’ll feel a lot better if you go along with it!”

Logan nodded his agreement. “Now let’s go home. I have some work that I need to get finished, and you need some stimulation.”

“Stimulation...?” Logan had no way of being sure, but from his mirage’s tone of voice, he was raising an eyebrow at him. “...your apartment isn’t very stimulating…”

  
“We have books at home. I want you to read one tonight.” All Logan got in response was another groan of discontent. _He’ll adjust_ , Logan thought to himself. _Because if he doesn’t, then we’re both in trouble._

**Author's Note:**

> I think I've finally got it! I know the story I want to tell! I'm so excited to share it with you guys, you have no idea. Big thanks to confinesofpersonalknowledge for beta reading for me! Make sure to go check out some of their work. As always, updates will be a little sporadic, but this time around I'm going to take my time and make sure that I'm happy with what I'm writing instead of rushing through it to get it out quickly, so hopefully the quality will be worth the wait. Tell me if I missed a typo or something that needs to be tagged! Thank you so much for your support!


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